Midterm Study Guide Flashcards
Sex
How to formalize an argument in Premise/Conclusion format
P1 (Premise one) + P2 (premise 2) = C (claim)
If P1 is true and P2 is true then C must be true.
For example, all humans are mortal; socrates is a human therefore he is mortal.
The general motivation of Fausto-Sterling’s book
To understand and analyze how we view and understand gender as a society; to prove that there are things we do not and cannot know about gender in the current day.
At what age children develop some conceptions of gender
10 months old: children can begin to recognize female and male faces and voices. They can also associate certain items with certain genders if they see them together, For example, if they see their mom with a frying pan they may associate a frying pan with women.
Two years old: They can start to identify neutral items with one gender, for example, they may begin to identify dolls as female and trucks as male.
Three years old: They have enough of an understanding of gender to say and know their own gender.
Which chromosome is often thought of as the ‘sex determining factor’
Y chromosome; this is thought of the as the sex-determining factor because it pushes the embryo in the male direction.
Understand the layered model of sex, generally
Sex isn’t purely genitalia although it is thought to be. Sex is determined by six layers of biology.
The six layers of sex
- Chromosomal (XX or XY)
- Indifferent fetal sex (In the first eight weeks there is no sex distinguishment)
- Differentiated fetal gonad sex (Ovaries or testes appear in the embryo)
- Fetal hormonal sex (Ovaries/Testes begin to produce hormones; estrogen for females and testosterone for males.
- Internal sex: Internal sex organs begin to form. (Female: fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, Male: Vas deferens, epididymis)
- Genital sex: Penis, Vagina, Citrous
What is the Kinsey scale and what is it trying to measure?
The Kinsey scale is a scale from 0 - X attempting to measure one’s level of homosexuality.
0= no homosexuality
X= asexual
What is the alternative to nature vs. nurture according to Fausto-Sterling?
Fausto Sterling decides to focus on development rather than nature vs. nurture because they are too closely intertwined.
What is wrong with the way the word “sex” (meaning intercourse) is defined?
It is defined only by penetration which is problematic because it prioritizes male satisfaction and orgasm and is extremely heteronormative.
What does Srinivasan mean by the term “ethically okay sex”
Ethically okay sex is sex that is consensual without a large age gap or abuse of power.
Fausto-Sterling’s thought experiment of the three clones
Three clones from different time periods (one from ancient Greece, one from 17th-century Europe, and one modern-day America) all with the exact same DNA, would they all be gay or all be straight?
A good example to bring up here would be the Sturniolo triplets, they all have identical DNA (Because they are triplets) but two are straight and one is gay.
How is gender thought of as biological by some and social by others?
Biological: there are differences in anatomy and medical needs for different genders.
Social: Gender is taught and is a social construct.
What is the orgasm gap?
Men on average have more orgasms then woman.
Examples of non-human animal sexes variances
Animal Kingdom didn’t get the memo about the gender binary. Some species have one gender while others have six. Some species’ gender is determined by the temperature of the egg.
How do sex and death relate to one another?
Sex is the beginning of life and death is the end of it; gender and sex and sexuality can all make our views of death differ extremely, the two are very closely intertwined.
